"Beginning Game Level Design" is aimed at readers who want to learn about the creation of game environments and the control of game play, known in the game development industry as "level design". It presents an overview of the skills required to produce high quality levels and teaches readers the basic uses of several genre-specific tools along the way. It focuses on key topics, including design aesthetics, familiarization with the basic tools used in level design, what makes "good levels" and how to create them, and explains how readers can transfer these new skills into a job as a level designer. The author takes a step-by-step tutorial approach to teaching the level design techniques genre-by-genre. Offering readers a unique value, this book covers the basics of level design without focusing strongly on one single software platform or product.